Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada

Canada: Tonne-kilometers of air freight was 2.04 billion million ton-km in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
2.04 billion million ton-km
Change on year
down 34.3%
World rank
16th
of 180 countries
All-time high
3.24 billion million ton-km
in 2021
All-time low
370.90 million million ton-km
in 1970
Years of data
54
1970–2023

Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada, 1970–2023

01.0B2.0B3.0B197019962023

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in million ton-km.

Analysis

In 2023, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada stood at 2.04 billion million ton-km.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 34.3% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada peaked at 3.24 billion million ton-km in 2021 and was at its lowest, 370.90 million million ton-km, in 1970.

Canada ranks 16th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 54 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 514.37 million million ton-km 370.90 million million ton-km 670.40 million million ton-km 10
1980s 939.66 million million ton-km 688.60 million million ton-km 1.31 billion million ton-km 10
1990s 1.58 billion million ton-km 1.24 billion million ton-km 1.96 billion million ton-km 10
2000s 1.55 billion million ton-km 1.35 billion million ton-km 1.90 billion million ton-km 10
2010s 2.27 billion million ton-km 1.95 billion million ton-km 3.11 billion million ton-km 10
2020s 2.67 billion million ton-km 2.04 billion million ton-km 3.24 billion million ton-km 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 13 France 4.30 billion million ton-km compare
  2. 14 Ethiopia 4.02 billion million ton-km compare
  3. 15 Netherlands 3.29 billion million ton-km compare
  4. 17 Colombia 1.94 billion million ton-km compare
  5. 18 Malaysia 1.91 billion million ton-km compare
  6. 19 Belgium 1.83 billion million ton-km compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada?
Tonne-kilometers of air freight in Canada was 2.04 billion million ton-km in 2023, according to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 3.24 billion million ton-km in 2021.
What is the lowest tonne-kilometers of air freight recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 370.90 million million ton-km in 1970.
How does Canada rank for tonne-kilometers of air freight?
Canada ranks 16th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
Is tonne-kilometers of air freight rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Tonne-kilometers of air freight. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 54 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Tonne-kilometers of air freight
Unit
million ton-km
Source
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 7,506 data points, 1970–2023
Last refreshed

Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tonnes times kilometers traveled.